Honey...you just lost your mom after 5 of the hardest months you could imagine. It takes time...and I know this is part of the grief process. It has only been two weeks! Please, don't feel guilty for those days you get your coffee at 2 or sleep until 11. Your body needs to rest, your mind needs to rest, and you need to make peace with what has happened. I am so sorry you are in this place and I wish there was something I could do. :( :grouphug: I watched my mom go through this after my grandmother died. I was 16 and I can remember that, at Christmas, for YEARS, it was just not the same. When you lose a family member, you lose part of yourself. It takes time to heal. Huge, huge :grouphug: to you.

My personal thought is that *I* couldn't fathom ever having an abortion. I do think that the baby is alive and that abortion kills it, so therefore it is murder. However, I am also a Christian and I know that God did not set me here to judge others. I also know that God forgives - look at the theif on the cross beside Jesus, for example. So, while I would not perform or have an abortion, I do not judge others who have made this choice. My best friend made this choice. I don't think less of her - I don't dislike her or feel differently toward her because of it. I hurt for her becuase the choice haunts her. I am, in no way, opposed to places helping unwed mothers who choose not to abort. There is a Crisis Pregnancy Center in my area that is supported by local churches and the sole purpose of this place is to help these mothers. They give them diapers, counsel them, help them put the babies up for adoption if they choose to go that route. They have case managers on hand to take the girls to and from appts with the doctor and to take them to appts with the welfare/WIC/food stamp offices. I support their efforts 100%.

Oh my. I am thinking she must have some kind of infection. I hope she is feeling better soon! Prayers coming her way.

That was hilarious! Love it. :) My favorite was the disclaimers in the the little voice at the end...and of course the phone number. :)

What a handsome boy. How old is he? Congrats to you and your family. :)

I am intersted to hear feedback from those in other countries (or who have lived in other countries). Could you maybe add a poll to your post just so we don't have to wade through the posts to see how the majority feels? Thanks for asking the question!

My best friend had an abortion several years ago because she had gotten pregnant and her boyfriend at the time said he would leave her. She was 27 years old at the time, but she went through with the abortion. She actually didn't tell me (even though we had been friends for 15 years!) because she knew I would try and talk her out of it. Something tells my that, by this girl telling your family (BMW's dd), maybe that has been her call for help. My best friend who had the abortion is still terribly torn up about what she did. At the time, it seemed "right" to her, but she lives in an absolutely state of torture and HELL. It has all but ruined her relationship with her now husband. They have a baby together now too...and not a day goes by that she doesn't look at her child and think of the one whose life she ended. I think that women expect to have an abortion and that be it...but for most women, that isn't "it" at all. :( I am praying for your dd's friend. I was 19 when I got pregnant too and I had known ds10's dad for 3 months. I can't imagine having made the choice to terminate the pg with ds...not even back then when I was young, unmarried, and pregnant. :(

Probbaly not. I was pregnant and married at 19 (thumbs down with the parents). I did finish college at 21 (thumbs up with the parents). Then I was divorced at 22 (thumbs down again). Remarried (thumbs down by mom at first...) and now am a sahm/homeschooling mom (likely not what my mom would have chosen for me. She wanted me to BE something. Well, I am...just not her description of "something).

I referred to him that way in a thread here...and really it was for no other reason than not wanting to type out the word "President." Actually, most of the time I just call him "Obama" - the same way I called President Bush, "W."

My husband was in Minneapolis last week and it was on their local news. He is the one who relayed it me as we were talking on the phone. I think it was Tuesday night.

Budget - History and Science (we use HOD/living books and it can get costly). The majority of the day for my older ds is often spent on Math. He has to have a good balance of problems (not too many, not too few) and has to do it first thing of the day or we lose the entire day to math. Oddly enough, math is also one of his best subjects...go figure. My youngest will spend a good part of the day on Phonics...but that is really just because we hit phonics hard and do reading as well as PP and ETC (both in the book and online). It just takes time to get through what is planned for the day.

I am sure you were terrified. :( I am so glad you found her and there was nothing wrong. You are right...it could have been very different. That said, your post title immediately made me think something much different. My heart jumped in my throat for a second. Last Sunday, in the town where I live (actually less than a mile from my house), two boys that I tutored in public school about 2 years ago were killed in a motorcycle accident. Attending the funerals, feeling the absolute grief and devastation of these mothers whose son's voices they would never hear again has really hit home with me. So many times, I let me kids grind on my nerves. I lose my temper and snap at them sometimes (we all do, I am sure), but now, each time i am about to lose it over their fighting or whinning, I think of those mothers sitting in that funeral home. It doesn't take long to change my mood when those thoughts come. Our kids are here on loan to us - and it is so important to remember that every.single.day. Those boys were out being boys - they were doing something pretty dumb, but they lost their lives in an instant. It can happen so fast. Hug your baby tight and let this experience remind you that, difficult or not, she is your baby and you could never imagine life without her. *huge hugs*

THIS is totally and completely insane. We should just resurrect Hilter and invite him to come run the USA. :ohmy:

You know, you say this NOW and I agree...for now. It is not what Obama is going to do now...this second. It is what he is going to do over his 4, possibly 8 years in office. Did you know that, in Minnesota, they are regulating the number of DOGS people are allowed to own. No more than 2. Freedom is going out the window...today dogs...tomorrow what? Children? China does it. Do we really think it could never happen to the US? If not, then perhaps we could have re-thought electing a man who stands for socialism, unified health care - who is openly for abortion..even in the late term. Ugh. And what is mind-blowing to *me* is that people in this country seem blind to these facts. Suddenly, my best friend is telling me socialism would be fine and that universal healthcare would be great. What the H*LL is happening to this country? How are people missing the boat here? I guess it is like MJ's journey into sainthodd after death...people wear blinders and follow the crowd to the slaughter. I suppose I have said enough on this topic and likely should not even read further topics on this subject here...

Being that kid who got pregnant and married (in that order) at 19, I was ever so grateful for all the help we received from family early on. However, there has to be a good line drawn between "helping" and "RAISING your grandchild for the parents." I want my kids to be responsible and getting yourself into a situation that sucks is not a good reason to back out on responsibilities. I didn't when I found myself there and I absolutely will not raise the child for my child unless there were extenuating circumstances.

I had a hard time with this as well. Obviously, Tree House Academy finally came along. It is derived from living in the mountains among the trees and making that our school house. :) It will come to you...give it time.

I have a BA in English and was a technical writer for about 5 years before becoming a SAHM and now a homeschooling mom. With my BA at a the University of TN (back when $1500 was the semester cost for in state tuition), I came out owing about $11K in student loans. My first year out of college, I made $60K. I think that the real money is in further education...masters/doctorate (as long as you don't have a psychology degree...that almost takes a doctorate to do anything. My best friend has struggled with this for a long time now).

No matter what you decide, I would wait to post the stuff for sale. Wait until ds has been in school about 2 months if you can. What made you pull him out in the first place? There have been times that I thought I needed to send ds10 back to ps, but then I remember why I pulled him out to begin with. I also had a hard time juggling it all...I bought Managers of their Homes and deided to implement a schedule to keep myself more accountable and to see where the hours in my days are going. It has helped tremendously. *hugs* and best of luck with your decisions to come.

At 40 weeks, 2 days pregnant, I think you have a right to be a bit cranky. *HUGS* Hope the baby makes an appearance soon!

LOL - I think it is kinda like arguing politics. They aren't going to change their mind and you aren't going to change yours. This is part of why I really like to just get as far away from ps PEOPLE as possible and find other, like-minded souls with which to form bonds. :)

Are you talking about farming as a living? My dh and I live on 56 acres that are attached to his uncle's 44 acres. Uncle farms for a living. We don't. We are not "rich" in any sense of the word, but we do manage to raise chickens and sell the eggs, grow veggies and have enough left for friends/family, raise pigs, etc and we do make some money off the farm each year. I can't even imagine trying to live off of farming in this day and age (as in growing and selling produce). Uncle has a produce stand and this year has been TERRIBLE for his business. It is pick your own and right beside the farm - for years, it was extremely busy and popular. With the economy the way it is now, people just aren't buying or paying the prices. I am not sure if they grow their own or just choose not to eat fresh produce?? Anyway, I agree with you. If Uncle wasn't retired (read...he does the farming because he LOVES it), I am not sure he could make a living doing it here.

To be honest, I am so opposed to this bill (and many of the other things that Mr. Obama stands for and wishes to implement in this country) that it makes me sick to my stomach to even think about it. I find myself wishing I could move out of the country right about now.

When my ds was 3, he could say ONE word...and it was really just half a word. However, we knew what it meant and he did too, so I call it a word. LOL In the state of TN, services are FREE no matter how much $ you make or what insurance you have. We went through the TN Early Intervention System and they gave my son free speech therapy for a year. Come to find out, there wasn't really anything wrong with him. Now he never shuts up! He just had a delay getting out of the gate, so to speak, and ST was the best thing we could have done for him. He had to be re-evaluated when he turned 4 because TEIS will only give services until the child is 3 (then it moves to the ps system). When we had him evaluated, the evaluator told me that he was no longer elegible...and not only that, unless he was still talking the same way when he was 8...he would not ever be eligible. So ST took him from not speaking more than one word to talking like an 8 year old in one year. :)

I went through the program. It took me WEEKS of thinking, planning, and reading. I went slowly, though, and I made sure to do little chunks and consider things prayerfully as well as discussing them with my dh as I went along. With school starting back, we are just about the put the schdule to use. I am very proud of it. :) I call it the "Micromanaging my life" schedule. I say that because I do find that the author is very detail oriented and she seems to micromanage a bit. However, I was able to adapt her method to something that will work me me and my family. Now...if I could ever get the umph to get started on Managers of their Chores...

I like the pictures, the font is much better in the final version. I agree with the PP about the "plotting animals" part. It doesn't make sense unless you explain it. Sine it appears that this is going to be your blog banner, perhaps something like "Herding my ducklings as the animals plot my demise.." would make more sense to readers who do not yet know you or have not yet read your posts. ???